Thunder
by Samtastic Sami
Summary: Rosalie has a troubled path, and she lacks trust in people, mainly men. Emmett McCarthy grows to love her and wants to prove her wrong. Can he convince her that there are good people in the world? For Oxygen.and.Cucumber challenge, one-shot, all human.


**A/N: This is for .Cucumber, the first challenge, idea 2. This is my Rosalie/Emmett one-shot. Please enjoy and review!**

Guess what?

Mommy dearest just got married.

_Again_.

Same old story, same old tune, being played again like a broken record.

His name was Royce, Royce King.

He was just like all the other losers, all the other jack asses. He was the same as the rest.

Husband #9 was just like all of mom's other husbands and boyfriends.

If she couldn't draw them in herself, I was forced to be the bait, whether I wanted to or not. But it's not like it really mattered what I thought, so long as my mom got what she wanted.

Tanya Hale was a bitch, and she was not a mother to me.

She was just the person I was living with until I can move out when I turn eighteen. One long year away, but I just didn't have enough money saved up to leave.

I spent my days after school working at the bookstore over at the Thriftway near school. It was nearby, quiet, I could do my schoolwork. Perfect.

The only problem was, it was lacking customers, so my pay wasn't all that good.

But I worked there _because _of the lack of customers. If there were few people around, there was less of a chance for me to get hit on, to get hurt.

For as long as I could remember, abuse was all I knew from a supposedly parental figure.

Tanya was an addict of all sorts. Alcohol, drugs, smoking, and the addiction of taking out her anger on her mistake of a child. Me.

If she had a breakup, a divorce, a bad day at work, I paid for it. Every hit, every kick, every yell, it all sounded like thunder to my ears.

When I turned eight, that was the first time the effect of the abuse really set in.

Tanya's boyfriend of the month came over to wait for her to come home from work. She was probably screwing the cook over at Hooter's, where she worked as the waitress. Probably because she worked as a whore on the side. Too bad she wasted away all her earnings on booze.

I was eight years old, home alone, as usual, doing my homework, trying my best for a straight A student stressed with domestic violence, and then James, Tanya's boyfriend, decided to help himself to Tanya's collection of alcohol. And he was already high as it is.

He was wasted by the time I had finished homework and eaten my dinner. Well, if I _had_ eaten dinner, considering my _mother_ didn't actually provide.

So, hungry as usual, I took my shower. As I stepped out from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, I felt someone's eyes on me. I turned around, and James was leaning against Tanya's doorframe.

Oh, and guess what, she still wasn't home! Surprise frickin surprise. Not.

Seeing him sent chills down my body. I wasn't used to being around Tanya's boyfriends or husbands, much less ex-cons like James.

"Hey, Rozee, where's yo momma aahh?" He asked, words slurring from his self intoxication.

"I I-I d-don't-t kno-ow," I stuttered, scared to have him in such close proximity.

"Well, she's out, fucking God knows WHO!" He boomed, yelling like thunder, "And Katie iz all out wih her boyfrienn… haha! So I am sooo _horny!_ Haha, Rozee, Ah! You are sucha cuute lil' kid, ain't you?" He seemed more terrifying by the second as he lumbered towards me, each word more slurred than the last.

He leaned down and grabbed my arm, the smell of scotch on his breath fanned out across my face and made me want to vomit the acid of my empty stomach.

"You know whaaa? Sis you such a goo lil' kid, Ima gunna have to do wi you, huh? Haha!"

He laughed the whole time as he dragged me to my room and locked the door. It was dark, and all I could see in the moonlight was the glittering of my silent tears.

"Please don't," I whispered, and he just laughed even louder.

"_STOP_! Why would I do tha?"

I ran to the corner of the room that was farthest away from him and wrapped my arms around myself.

His roars ricocheted off the walls and were worse than thunder.

He towered over me and just laughed some more. He kicked me in my ribs, adding to the many other bruises that were from my mother, and only her. But that was until James came along.

He yanked me up and threw me onto my bed, my head cracking against the wall.

I felt a warm liquid trickle down my face.

The towel was ripped off of my body, and all I could do was whimper. He grabbed both of my wrists in one hand and pinned them above my head, his other hand wrapping tightly around my throat.

"I think it woo be be'er for you to juz be quiet now, darlin'. Wo'in wan any'n to hear ya, now woo we? Haha!"

He removed his hand fro my throat and slid it down my body, using it to spread my legs. James was oblivious to my whimpers, and just kept cackling.

All I could remember of that night was pain. It was fast, but it was a memory I could never forget; it was just too painful and was carved into my mind.

When he had finished, he left to go pass out in Tanya's room, to be ready for her when she got back to the apartment.

I had bruises all over my body visible when I attended school the next day. Some were yellow, others purple, physical evidence of where James had hit me and sucked on my skin to the point where it hurt. I was hurting all over, shaking in fear, and flinching every time someone touched me, or even bumped into me. I had become broken.

That night James did it again, and he did it the next night, and the night after that, and the night after that, and it lasted for over a week.

That was, until Tanya found out. James was one of those that babbled when drunk or high.

She kicked him out before kicking me. She called me a whore, a bitch, said I was trying to ruin her life and take away her boyfriend. Didn't she realize she was talking about herself, that _she_ had ruined _my_ life?

Every one of Tanya's boyfriends was just like James after that. Well, not all. There were the few rare ones that were genuinely good people who heard the wrong siren's song. But they were as rare as a sunny day in Forks, Washington.

When I turned twelve, Tanya decided she needed some help with things on the financial end of things. Surprise, surprise. Not.

She was drunk, again, and decided to have a heartfelt mother-daughter talk.

"Hey, Rosie. How are you, babe? You know you are so pretty," she cooed. She was one of those drunks that were mostly pleasant when drunk. That is, until she got mad, which was often.

"Ah, are any boys asking you out yet? Huh? Look at your hair, how do you get it so shiny? It looks lovely with those big golden curls of yours. You know, I don't know why they say blondes are dumb – we're smart, you and I. Look at how well we seem to be doing, huh baby? Yeah, look at you, growing up. You're starting to look like a girl up there," she giggled before calming down. "Sweetie, I need help earning money. You know the rent doesn't pay for itself."

"Wha-what do I have to do?"

"Oh, nothing, baby. Just join me for a walk, will you?"

"Okay," I whispered, too afraid to refuse.

"But you have to change first." She went into my closet, dissatisfied with my collection. It was nothing but jeans and hoodies. Things that would conceal my bruises. She went back into her room and came back with her own clothes for me to wear, but they looked like they would be loose on me. "Throw these on," she instructed harshly with a look that showed she was sobering up.

I slipped into the denim shorts that barely covered my butt and a red tank top that didn't even reach my belly button.

It was loose in a couple of places and I went out and Tanya was waiting.

"Get your ass over here," she commanded. She pulled a leopard print belt tightly around my waist and ripped the front of the top from the bottom. She tied the ripped sides together so that it was form fitting. Tanya then proceeded to combing out the knots from my hair and putting make up on me. Her final step was strapping 4-inch heels to my feet. I looked in the mirror and I seemed much older than twelve. I didn't like this version of myself. How could girls actually go out in public dressed like this?

"Let's go now."

"Where are we going, Tanya?"

"Shut up and move, bitch. Don't make me slap you."

She led me down the street to a corner next to a bar. I coughed as I inhaled the smoke and tried in vain to clear my lungs.

"Shut up," she hissed at me vehemently.

We waited for a couple of minutes when two drunken guys emerged from the bar.

"Hey, boys," Tanya purred at them.

"Hello there, pretty face. How bout we go to the back for a quickie?" One of the guys laughed. They were stumbling over each other.

"Hey, you there, blonde hair, blue eyes, red shirt, come 'ere!"

"How much for an hour with red over here?" The other guy asked.

"Hmm… $100." Tanya stated.

One on the guys, he had a blue shirt, took out his wallet and was fumbling with the dollar bills.

"Here, let me help," Tanya said. She grabbed his wallet and I saw her take out more than a hundred dollars. The guy was too intoxicated to notice.

"Rose, just follow the nice man to wherever he leads you and come _right back_ here in an hour, got it?" I just bobbed my head.

"Oh, and you might need this," she said to the man as she threw him a small, square foil packet. _Trojan._

_Oh, God, no. No, no, no, please no._

I've seen those kind of wrappers far too often. Oh no.

"C'mere sweetie," the blue shirted guy said. He grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the back of the bar. I tried pulling my hand out of his grasp, but for someone so incoherent, he was strong.

We ended up in an alley, and he planted a sloppy wet kiss on my face, missing my lips completely. He shoved me against the wall and made quick work with his pants, and then my own shorts.

I had grown so accustomed to this sort of routine with Tanya's boyfriends and all those ex-husbands, but now to have men pay her to have sex with _me_, that was another thing. I was biting back tears the whole time, thinking that if I thought my life was horrible before, it was nothing compared to now.

Tanya turned me into a prostitute, just like her.

When the deed had been done, I returned to Tanya, and found her whispering in some guy's ear, giggling. I shivered, trying to decide whether I should go back to her or run home.

Having her mad at me and beat me, I think I could handle, but I honestly believed I would have an emotional overload if I had to go through that again.

I decided on returning home.

The next day I faced Tanya's wrath, but it wasn't too bad considering all that money she 'earned'.

"Rosalie Hale, what the fucking hell happened to you? You never came back!"

"I couldn't find you." Tanya was a no nonsense sort of person, and to her, that was all a bunch of bullshit. I ended up getting slapped around and cut by a broken tequila bottle. But I survived.

When I turned fourteen, a new freshman at Forks High School, I thought things were looking up. Usually Tanya took me out to that wretched bar corner once a week, but after school started, I didn't see Tanya.

One week, two weeks, three weeks, still no Tanya. And I really liked it.

And to make it better, I actually made friends over there in high school. They were Bella and Alice Swan, sisters, and they made me feel like a normal teenage girl. I got to gossip with them, chat about boys, get makeovers, watch movies, and look at magazines. I had the time of my life during that first month of school.

Bella and Alice had befriended Edward Cullen and Jasper Whitlock, but I kept my distance from them, as nice as they seemed. They were guys, and all men were the same. If they had the Y chromosome, then it meant trouble. And trouble loved me.

High school wasn't all as great as I thought it would be.

After that first month, Tanya finally came home from wherever she was at with whoever she was screwing, and she turned my life back into a living hell. She forced me to go streetwalking with her again, and she forced me to change into those skimpy outfits when I attended school. It was pure torture. I wore those revealing clothes to school – not that teachers there even cared – and that's what got the male population at Forks High School to notice me.

That first day in horrid clothes is when the harassment started. Alice didn't mind too much because she liked the style, but Bella didn't approve too much of the skin. But the guys, on the other hand, seemed to approve.

I got whistles from passing guys in the halls, even from seniors. When I sat down for class, guys would crowd around my desk asking for my number or if I was busy. I was sexually harassed, tired of all the pick up lines I've heard and all the flirting I had to deflect. School wasn't the paradise it used to be. Maintaining my straight As was getting harder. Finally, one day I had enough.

"Bella, Alice, can I talk with you two?"

"Of course. What's wrong Rose?" Bella was always aware of my distress, but she could tell I never wanted her to act upon it.

"Um, well, I don't like the way I dress. My mom forces me to wear these outfits and I can't get out of it," I said, looking down, trying in vain to pull down my extremely short skirt.

"Why can't you just say no? It's not like she'll hit you!" Alice laughed.

"Um…"

"No! Rose, does she?" Bella whispered. I just shrugged and mumbled something incoherent. They both hugged me close, and for once, I didn't flinch or try to break away. I hugged them both back, because I actually felt loved for once in my life. They weren't using me like Tanya was. Now I finally had people who knew my secret. Well, most of it anyway.

"I know!" Alice shrieked. "You wear what you have to, and I'll bring you an outfit to change into at school!"

"No, Alice. Rosalie, you have to tell someone. Tell Charlie, he's an officer. You don't have to go though that ever again. You can come live with us." Bella said giving me an encouraging smile.

"I can't," I whispered. "You don't owe her anything," Bella said.

"I don't think I can deal with that."

"But Rose-"

"_No._ I'm sorry, but I just can't." I hated being harsh with them, but I just couldn't deal with that, I really couldn't. I didn't want to tell them how all her boyfriends and husbands had raped me, or how she forced me into a life I didn't want, a life so similar to hers as a prost- I couldn't even think the word.

"Ok. But if things get worse, Rosalie, we have to protect you. If you need to talk, you know you have us, right?"

"Of course I know that. You two are the best friends I've ever had."

Tanya continued taking me with her to look for 'customers', and I kept growing more disgusted with myself.

About a week after I had my talk with Alice and Bella, I decided to take a stand.

"No, I won't do it. Not anymore."

"Rosalie, stop talking that shit and get going."

"No." She didn't like that answer, and the last thing I saw was Tanya grabbing her heels.

When I woke up my head was throbbing. I could feel the dried blood on my forehead. I looked around and found myself on top of the smashed coffee table. I saw Tanya's pair of heels nearby, except one of the heels was missing. I tried getting up but I couldn't move my arm. Eventually I got up and limped to my room, hoping that I only sprained my wrist and ankle instead of actually having something broken. I looked down at the remnants of the coffee table, which had been demolished when I fell upon it, and saw the missing heel, caked in blood. So now the weapon has been found.

I checked my phone on my nightstand and saw that I had been out for a long time. I missed school yesterday, and today… today everyone was already at lunch. Great, I have two days of being absent. Maybe three considering that I couldn't walk.

I finally came back to school but with a brace on my wrist and my ankle, which were still healing. Alice immediately noticed the bags under my eyes and the multiple bruises, but what really got her attention was the giant cut where Tanya had hit me with her shoe. It still hurt, and Tylenol didn't cut it.

Alice covered up the bruises with makeup while Bella mended the cut, but they both disapproved the way I just let it pass.

But I had to. I couldn't let them find out what Tanya made me do, and why she hurt me for not doing it. I was ashamed of what I had done, and I regretted it, and I hated it that I let this happen to me.

They respected my privacy, and didn't think less of me because of my stubbornness in refusing to report anything.

When we had headed to the middle of the school year, things seemed like they were getting better.

I learned not to ever refuse Tanya again, and I got slapped around by her and her boyfriends less, though her boyfriends never did cease to hurt me in their own special way. It became routine for me to change into the clothes Alice brought for me. I was so grateful to her, and the clothes did cover more skin, but they were still tight and seemingly provocative.

One day I was passing Mike Newton in the hall with his group of friends and I was caught off guard when he yelled at me with his supposed pick up line.

"Hey, Rosie!" Newton yelled obnoxiously. "Hey, do you have a mirror in your pocket? 'Cuz I see myself in your pants!" And he and the other guys cracked up. That was wrong on so many levels, and he made it worse by approaching me and slapping me right on the ass. I was petrified, and I worried what he was going to do.

"Don't touch me!" I shrieked at him, and Alice did me a favor of slapping him.

Alice and Bella did their best to comfort me, but the memories Mike brought up were too much. All those times they had put their hands on me, when Tanya would hit me, when she would force me to get fucked, it hurt more than I ever thought it could. I sobbed into my hands and cried out all my tears before emerging from the bathroom stall and getting hugs from my best friends.

"Alice, why do guys treat me like that?" I said through sniffles.

"Rose, they think you're hot. They're guys, they're stupid. Boys are like slinkies; they are absolutely useless but are fun to watch fall down the stairs," she answered me, trying her best at cheering me up.

"I'm not hot, Alice! I'm not pretty! I'm plain, I'm just me, why can't they leave me alone?!" I was growing hysterical, and Bella wrapped her arms around me in a comforting manner.

Alice just shook her head. "You are just like Bella sometimes," she muttered.

I rolled my eyes and somehow found a way to endure all the comments I got throughout freshman, sophomore, and junior years.

Those first three years of high school were definitely the best years of my life. I got to lean on Bella and Alice, and, though they never knew it, I grew to like Edward and Jasper, whom my best friends started to date. I always did feel that occasional guilt about hiding that part of my life from my friends, but I couldn't tell them my mom let her boyfriends rape me and I let her turn me into a hooker. I would be my little secret. It was just one more year until I turned eighteen. Our senior year still hadn't started; it was still summer, and I was excited. Well, except for the fact that Tanya returned home with a new husband, Royce King. He scared the crap out of me. Whenever I came out of the shower he always seemed to be there. He didn't actually rape me, but that didn't mean he didn't touch me. He did; a lot. And he always did it in front of Tanya, and she would slap me for it.

On that first day of school, I picked up Alice and Bella in my car and sped to school. I was barely able to pay for the gas with my minimum wage working over at the bookstore, so how would I be able to pay for an apartment, much less college? Tanya bought the car, and still beat me into working for her as a streetwalker, and now if she caught Royce even looking in my direction, she would knock me senseless.

"Rose, did you hear? We got a new guy in our class! Yeah, Edward and Jasper met him over the summer and said he was pretty cool. You know, Rosie, I think he would be great for you…" she said, looking in my direction and wagging her eyebrows suggestively in the process.

"Uh, no, Alice. Bella agrees with me, I don't need to date. I just need to focus on my grades for college."

"Rose!" Alice whined, trying to get both of us to see her side.

"Alice, she's right. She is a strong, beautiful, independent woman who can make her own choices and doesn't need a man in her life. Me, too," Bella decided to add as an afterthought.

"Hey, I thought I was a good boyfriend!" Edward said, appearing out of nowhere. He wrapped an arm around her and they shared a sweet kiss. They were cute together, but it hurt to see that they can be happy while I… I was only happy in school, and I was probably the only teenage girl who ever hated getting hit on, adding on to the other things on my list as to why I was a freak. There really were genuine guys out there who were nice, but I seemed to never attract them.

"Thanks, Bella." I gave her a bittersweet smile.

"C'mon Rose! Hurry up! We got to go meet the new guy!" she yelled as she tried dragging me.

"You mean Emmett McCarthy?" Edward asked.

"_Yes_," Alice sighed in exasperation.

We walked into homeroom, and I sat beside Alice. Bella had a different homeroom, so I was stuck listening to Alice chitter chatter about shoes… which brought back a bad memory about Tanya…

The teacher began role call, and when I looked up I saw a huge hulk of a guy in front of me. He must have been as a big as a mountain! All I could see was his muscles. Staring at his backside scared me, because if her were to try doing something to me, there was no way I would be able to fend him off. I tried scooting my desk away from him, but to no avail.

My heartbeat sped up, and my breathing became shallow, and it felt like I was having a panic attack, just like when I was raped or forced by Tanya to work.

I wasn't sure what that feeling was, but it was horrible. But… it wasn't all that terriblel just... diferent.

After homeroom, I dragged Alice out the nearest exit for our next class together, and I did it so quickly so that we wouldn't have to pass, or meet, this Emmett guy.

As we made our way to the next classroom, I happened to be oh so lucky to run into Mike fucking Newton.

"Hey, Rosie, baby, how you been?" He smirked at me cheekily, getting closer than my usual comfort zone. Alice knew I didn't like having people touch me, especially guys, so she did her best to intervene.

"Leave her alone Mike."

"Who brought you into this, huh pixie stick?" He shook his head and turned back to me, taking another step towards me. "C'mon, Rosie. Don't make this game you're playing turn into four years now. I've had to chase after you for three long years, and I've gotta tell you, I'm pretty tired of your teasing. Let's end it now, so why don't you come on out back with me to the janitor's closet, eh?" He came even closer, if that was even possible, and I was trapped with my back to the lockers.

"Mike, go away." Alice couldn't get him to back off, and it always brought those memories. The memories of how I could never fight them off, of how they always had their way with me, no matter how hard I fought and protested.

Mike grabbed my wrist and tried yanking me to him, and I couldn't pull away.

"Resistance is futile." He said through clenched teeth.

"Rose, you're coming with me. Now."

"Mike, no, let me go," I whimpered.

He was stronger, so much stronger, and he dragged me away through the empty halls. I couldn't find Alice, but somewhere in the back of my mind I vaguely remembered her saying she was going to go get help.

We quickly approached the janitor's closet, and when I refused to go in, he grabbed me by my hair and dragged me inside.

"Mike, no!" I screamed, and the tears that longed to be shed wouldn't fall.

I don't know why but my eyes didn't cry anymore. I could tear up, but not cry. It was like I was incapable of that function now. After so many years of crying, I ran out of tears. Fear was my constant companion, as was misery. Happiness seemed like a myth. Alice and Bella could no longer comfort me as much as they used to. What could when the life you were living was a lie? I was just a shell of the person I could be. After all those years of abuse, becoming a real person just wasn't possible. I couldn't return to normal because I didn't know what that was. I was born into this life, a life I didn't want. I couldn't wait a year to get out if this life that was too long. I had no money, no support, and I felt guilty about leaning on Bella and Alice for as long as I have.

There was no more reason for anything. If I died, what would I really be losing? Nothing, nothing at all, because I was worth nothing.

So that's why I shut down as Mike was dragging me away. I let myself fall to the ground. I was like a robot, I put myself on hibernate and just became catatonic. He would eventually be done and get over it, wouldn't he? Then he would leave me alone. Just another guy to add to the list of those who were able to overpower me. And what a long list it was.

"Mike! Let her go! _GET OFF HER!" _A voice boomed like thunder, and had I been responsive, I would have flinched.

The door to the janitor's closet was flung open and hit the wall with a bang. The light from the hallway streamed in momentarily before it was blocked by a giant hulking figure.

One moment all of Mike's body weight was on me, and the next he was gone. I heard the sound of flesh smacking flesh, a sound I had become accustomed to. There was a loud groan and something heavy fell to the floor.

"Rosalie, are you okay? Can you hear me?" It was a man's voice, thick and smooth but filled with worry. I was looking at him, but I wasn't really seeing him. It was like I was having an out of body experience. All I could do was blink and stare blankly.

A pair of strong muscular arms came around and tried lifting me up, and it snapped me out of my trance.

"_NO!!! No, no, no, please put me down! Don't touch me!"_ I shrieked and tried flailing my arms and legs, but he held me too tightly. When he had opened the door, my first thought was that he was my savior, but now I see he was just going to pick up where Mike left off. What was the point in fighting if I knew I was going to lose? He was big and strong, the halls were empty, Alice had disappeared, my phone was in my locker - he had the upper hand. I was completely helpless once again. I stopped moving and covered my eyes with my hands.

"Shh, shh, it's okay. He won't hurt you again, it's okay," the voice said and whoever he was started stroking my back. His voice soothing, but a man's touch was something I didn't want. I squirmed out of his grasp and almost fell, but I quickly caught myself.

I quickly recognized the guy who was sitting in front of me during homeroom.

"Are you alright? No, of course you're not, that was stupid. Do you need anything? Do I need to call someone? Here, let me help you get to your next class." He seemed nervous about something.

"How do you know my name?" I whispered.

"Huh?"

"You called my name earlier."

"Oh, uh, well… I saw you in homeroom and I asked someone about you and so… um, well, your friend Alice came looking for someone named Jasper and said you needed help, and then I saw you… I swear I wasn't stalking you!" He said and held his hands up in a defensive position.

**EmPOV:**

"Oh, by the way, I'm Emmett McCarthy," I said and extended my hand towards her to shake.

"Rosalie Hale," she whispered and simply nodded in my direction. She was shaking and I pulled her down to sit beside me on the bench I found. She quickly pulled away from me but still sat down. It seemed like she was trying to get as far away from me as possible.

"Where's your next class?"

"Why?"

"So I can help you get there without any trouble." She just shook her head.

She pulled herself up and I saw her walking in the same direction where my next class was. I guess I couldn't really blame her for acting that way after what had happened.

"Aren't you going to press charges or something?" She just shook her head again and started walking even faster. She ended up in the same classroom where I needed to be. For the rest of the day I kept my distance from her, but I still kept a watchful eye.

That morning when I walked into my homeroom, the only empty desk was in front of a pretty blonde who wasn't paying close attention to what a small, black haired girl was saying. She seemed so pale and thin, and something was troubling her. I took my seat in front of her and she didn't seem to notice.

I kept thinking about her golden curls and her bright blue eyes. They were so lively, but they seemed so dead and dull at the same time. I decided I would get up the nerve to talk to her, but when I turned around she and her small friend were gone. I went out into the hall and got ready for my next class.

I was about to walk into the classroom when I bumped into Jasper, the guy I met during the summer.

"Hey Emmett, my man, what's up?"

"Not much," I said with a shrug. "But, um, hey, do you know the names of any of the students who were in my homeroom? There was this blonde sitting behind me and a black haired girl beside her."

"I think you mean Alice and Rosalie."

"You mean the girlfriend you had been talking about all summer?"

"The one and only," he said smugly, but I could see the love in his eyes.

Just then, the same small black haired girl from my homeroom came rushing down the hall looking worried and grabbed Jasper by his sleeves. So this must have been the famous Alice.

"Jasper, come quick, hurry! Rosalie, Mike, he, he," she was stuttering, tripping over her words trying to speak. She just kept pointing down the now empty hall. I kept thinking about that golden haired girl, and I was worried that she was in trouble. I ran down the hallway and saw a sandy-haired guy dragging the beautiful girl into a janitor's closet. She tried fighting, and I saw her give up.

I ripped that Mike guy off her and it only took one punch to knock him out. I dropped him to the ground and picked up the girl. She tried fighting me, probably not realizing I was someone else, and so I held her tighter to try and keep her from hitting me. For such a small girl, she was quite strong. I set her down. It hurt to see that she wanted to get away from me. I introduced myself, but she wanted nothing to do with me.

I quickly found out that we were in all the same classes, but she hardly noticed my presence.

"Jasper, why won't Rosalie talk to me?"

"Alice and Bella know. You should talk to them." I nodded and sought out his girlfriend.

"Hey Alice, Bella," I said politely. They nodded in acknowledgement. "So, um, why won't Rosalie talk to me? I tried talking to her, but she's been avoiding me…" I trailed off, embarrassed at how lame I sounded, as if I was really that desperate.

"Look, just stay away from her, please. You're a nice guy, but she really doesn't need this." They didn't explain further, but that didn't stop me from trying.

I tried my best to talk to her and get to know her, become her friend, but she avoided me like I was the plague. Sometimes I noticed she would come to school with bruises or cuts, a few times she even wore ankle or wrist braces. Every time I asked she just walked away.

All the guys around here tried hitting on her. That seemed like the usual routine here, but I noticed she didn't like it and was very uncomfortable. I couldn't figure her out, but I wanted to. I've never had such a strong pull before.

I was tired of all her running and hiding. It was as if she hated me when she barely knew me. Over the past four months my attempts have been useless to get her attention, but I learned many things about her through Alice and Bella. Enough was enough, and I needed to confront her. If she hated me and didn't want to speak to me, she could just say it rather than running.

"Alice, Bella, does Rosalie hate me? She keeps avoiding me. Does she hate me? Please tell me."

"Look, we asked you to stay away from her. She doesn't like to be touched. Okay?" Bella said sternly, crossing her arms.

"What do you mean?"

"Emmett, your attempts at charming her are useless. She's been through a lot. Her mom isn't exactly what you'd call a mom. All she's ever known was domestic violence. Just let her be. She doesn't like being courted. She is a solitary creature," Alice explained.

"But she has you two?" It came out as a question.

"Yeah, but sometimes it feels like she's only half there, like it's just her body and not her mind. She has her heart put into the right things, and it's a good heart, but she's been hurt. She doesn't need more crap added to her long list of things wrong in her life." Alice and Bella have never seemed more menacing than they did now. But they didn't answer my question as to whether Rosalie hated me or not.

I just had to know. It felt as if I had already fallen in love with her. If I did, I fell hard.

**RPOV:**

I came home from my shift at the bookstore, exhausted from my lack of sleep. Royce was there waiting, and that same eerie feeling crept up my spine again.

I screamed, I kicked, I hit, but I couldn't stop him.

He took me to my room, and the same old memories came rushing back, and this was worse than any of them. He wrapped his hands around my throat and kept squeezing. I couldn't breathe, and then, everything went black. I regained consciousness soon, and when I did, he hit me, he threw me to the ground, he kicked me repeatedly, and then he threw me up against the wall and I fell to the floor again. I could barely see, my vision blurring, but I could make out the crack in the wall covered in blood, and there was plaster and drywall in my hair. He grabbed my locks and yanked me upward, and slammed my face against the wall repeatedly. I thought this was it, this would be the end. Tonight was the night I would die for sure.

But he didn't murder me. No, instead, Royce King, my new 'daddy', raped me and beat me senseless. Much worse than Tanya's other asshole boyfriends and ex-husbands.

I missed a week of school, and I couldn't even pick up my cell phone when Alice and Bella would call. My mouth hurt to move, and I was worried he had broken my jaw. I had difficulty breathing after being choked, my wrist was either sprained or broken, and my right eye was swollen shut. Oh, and I was now Royce's personal slave.

He would call for me and I was forced to cook for him or bring him beer. If I took too long it called for another beating and another rape. It seemed like he was screwing me more than Tanya, his own wife. He did it to me at least three times a day, that was for sure.

At the end of the week I was looking a little better, and Tanya decided to come back home from wherever she was and take me streetwalking again.

I stood on the corner of the street in a dress that couldn't even be called a dress, not even an undershirt, and I was wearing heels so high that I was sure to get a broken ankle and I was wearing so much makeup it felt that it would never come off.

I stood along the street waiting. This isn't what I wanted to be doing.

"Tanya, I don't want to do this. I'm leaving." I wish I could say that in more ways than one.

"Where do you think you're going? Get your ass back here and earn me some money," she demanded after she slapped me and pointed to where I was supposed to stand. Just then, a guy came out of the bar and dragged me along with him, but not without paying Tanya first.

The entire time I was there walking the streets, doing what Tanya wanted, all I could think about was Emmett. He was so nice, but I still didn't really know him. I always sat with Alice and Bella during lunch, which of course entailed that Edward and Jasper would be sitting at the same table, which, of course, meant that Emmett also sat with us. I learned how funny he was, and sweet, and smart, and charming, and so… so _perfect_.

He was everything I wanted but knew I couldn't have. I felt so guilty about avoiding him when he tried talking to me, but I couldn't risk getting close to him and end up getting heartbroken.

Emmett had proven me wrong about men. Not all of them are assholes; some can be sweet, caring, and loving, just like Emmett.

I didn't understand what was happening to me. Whenever I was around him, my heart would get jumpy, and my breathing would become shallow, and I would get so worried. This feeling was so familiar, like when I was alone with a guy, especially one whom Tanya brought home, but yet it was so different. This feeling wasn't bad, per se, but it had me worried about other things. I worried about what he thought of me, and how I looked, and how I acted. I couldn't understand this feeling, it was all so new.

And not knowing what it was scared me.

I wasn't sure what it was I felt for Emmett, but I felt more comfortable around him than I did even Bella or Alice.

So while some random drunken guy who scared the crap out of me continued with his own pleasure and my own pain, I thought of happy thoughts; I thought of Emmett.

**EmPOV:**

I decided that I needed to know what Rosalie felt about me. I needed to tell her I cared strongly about her, that I wanted to be closer to her. I needed to hold her. I needed to comfort her. I needed to protect her. I needed to do so many things.

I got into my Jeep and started driving, and then I realized I didn't even know where she lived. Finally making up my mind, I decided to drive over to Jasper's and find out where she lives.

As I was on my way, I passed by the neighborhood bar, where I saw a familiar golden head. Well, two actually.

There was Rosalie Hale, girl of my dreams, beautiful, charming, smart, witty, funny, abused, hurt, broken, defenseless… standing on the street corner wearing a skimpy outfit and more makeup than a clown. She was next to another woman with the same hair color who was practically her carbon copy, only less pretty and taller, arguing about something. The quiet girl I was so used to looked so enraged, and then that woman, who I could only assume to be her mother, slapped her and pointed somewhere and made Rosalie stand there next to her.

Just then, some wasted dick stumbled out of the bar and started approaching Rosalie and the other woman. I saw an exchange go on between them and then the next thing I knew he was off dragging Rosalie somewhere, and her attempts at breaking away were useless.

Oh, my God.

She was… I couldn't even think the word. Is that what was wrong with her, the reason she was so quiet? Was that what the other woman was telling her to do? Sell her body for money?

My knuckles clenched the steering wheel tightly as I drove off and went back to my house. Suddenly, my view on Rosalie Hale had changed. She wasn't the perfect girl. She was a whore, and pining for her was just a waste of time.

The next day in school, Rosalie was gone, and Alice and Bella were busy worrying like they usually did when she missed school. If only they knew what she did during the night.

She came back the next day with multiple bruises, some staining her cheekbones, and I could clearly make out the shape of handprints on her neck. Her wrist was in a brace and there were cuts all over her hands. For a moment I regretted thinking of Rosalie as a whore and started wondering if she was alright, but then I swallowed my feelings of concern and just thought to myself that this was her fault, she got herself into this mess. But that didn't make things any easier on me.

The day after that Rosalie didn't show up. She didn't come to school for almost two weeks, and we all really started worrying. I hadn't told anyone what I had seen but I thought that now was as good a time as any. I quickly pulled Alice and Rosalie aside and explained everything to them.

"Listen up, this is very important. There is something you don't know about Rosalie, and it is very serious. Don't judge her too harshly."

"What are you talking about? Rose is very open with us. She tells us everything." Alice stated agitation in her voice.

"No, she hasn't. I was driving over to see Jasper and I saw Rosalie in a very skimpy outfit, streetwalking."

"You mean she's a…"

"Hooker?" Bella finished for Alice.

"Yes. But here's the thing. It looked like it was forced. I saw her mom; she was forcing her to do it. She practically beat her into going with that stranger."

"So you think that has something to do with her not being at school?" Bella asked. I just nodded.

"Well, now that you think about it," Bella said, "she has mentioned Tanya having a lot of boyfriends and being married multiple times. I think she's been raped. Mike probably wasn't the first one to try it, you know Emmett. It would explain a lot, not just the bruises." I just nodded, worrying about her safety.

I made a split second decision and took out my car keys.

"Where does she live?"

* * *

I quickly found my way to Rosalie and _Tanya's_ apartment. Well, I finally had a name for the face. Running up the stairs, I banged on the door, silently begging her to open the door.

_Please let her be safe. Please let her be safe. Please let her be-_

"_AHHH! GET OFF OF ME! Get away Royce! Stop!"_ I heard Rosalie screaming, and her whimpers as the sound of flesh smacking flesh echoed in my head like thunder. The sound of glass breaking and more grunts followed, and I had to take action. I slammed myself into the door repeatedly until it burst open.

I followed the sound of Rosalie's whimpers and pleas and slaps until I saw a tall man leaning over her and drag her up by her throat.

Without giving it a second thought, I jumped him from behind and got him in a chokehold. I slammed my fist in his face and heard the satisfying sound of crack from his nose, and I reveled in the sight of blood pouring down his face.

"Karma is a bitch, they say, and you, my unlucky _bastard_, will be getting one hell of a beating. I will make you wish you were never born," I threatened him. I slammed him into the wall, head first, repeatedly. I think I would have killed him if it weren't for Rosalie wheezing out my name.

"Emmett." Her voice was so hoarse it was barely a whisper. I quickly discarded the poor excuse of a man from my grasp and took her in my arms. She was unconscious, and I quickly put her in my car and drove her to the hospital.

I was so relieved to see Edward's dad on shift.

"Dr. Cullen, please, help," I pleaded to him as I carried Rosalie's broken body to him. One look at her bloodied face and he realized the urgency.

"I need a stretcher, _now!_" he yelled at the nearest nurse before questioning me.

"Emmett, what happened?" They took her away from me and rolled her past a set of double doors where I wasn't allowed to cross.

"Dr. Cullen, please go with her," I whispered. "Please, she needs you."

"I will in a moment, but first you need to tell me what happened."

"I was going over to see her and found that _bastard_ trying to rape her." He nodded and quickly ran down to follow where Rosalie's body was being taken. "Emmett, I'll have someone call Chief Swan for you," he yelled over his shoulder before disappearing.

It felt like hours before Dr. Cullen came back out with news. Chief Swan, Alice, Bella, Edward, and Jasper were all waiting with me.

"Um, well, is there a parent I should be telling? Because this is confidential information," Dr. Cullen stated carefully.

"Carlisle, she will not be seeing her mother ever again, because Tanya Hale is going to prison for domestic violence, the illegal use of drugs, forced prostitution, and prostitution. She is not, under any circumstances, allowed to go near that girl, am I clear? No one but you, her nurses and doctors, and the people present right now. If anyone else wishes to see her, that person must be approved by me." Chief Swan said sternly, with concern in his eyes.

"Of course. Well, Rosalie was in pretty bad shape. We noticed many areas that were previously broken and had already healed, but were not treated properly, so she obviously didn't get medical attention in the past."

"Damn straight," Alice said. Dr. Cullen continued.

"Well, her left wrist is broken in two places, her right ankle is also broken, as well as a fracture on her right femur. Her shoulder had been dislocated and her jaw was also fractured, so it's wired shut for now. Two of her left ribs are broken and one on her right side. She was very lucky; one of her ribs came very close to penetrating her lung-,"

"_LUCKY?!_ You call that lucky? She's practically dead!" I roared in outrage.

"Emmett, calm down. I understand, but it could have been much worse. Please, let me continue. Anyway, her trachea was very close to being crushed, due from strangulation, I believe, considering the bruises around her neck. And, I hate to say this, but we just took her out of surgery. They put the screw in to realign the bones; they were very bad breaks. But, she also had some internal bleeding in her liver, due to the violence and that beating she took. If you brought her in any later Emmett, she could have died." Dr. Cullen said in a sad tone, but as if he was still proud I had saved her.

"I know," I whispered, mostly to myself.

_I promise, Rosalie Hale, I will make things up to you. I will show you I care. I will show you that I, I, I… love you. Yes, that's what it was, it was love._

"You may go in to see her now, but be quiet, she needs her rest. And don't let her talk. We'll see if we can unwire her jaw in a few days, since it's just a fracture, but there aren't any promises. Chief, I believe you'll need to take her statement and help her file charges, am I correct?"

"Yes. Do you have any of those dry erase board things? I need to speak with her right away. We detained her mother and she confessed. She was as wasted and high as they come," he said as he shook his head in disapproval. "That poor girl, what she must have been through."

We all went into her room, and she was still sleeping.

The next day, I visited her alone.

She finally woke up and smiled when she saw me.

'_Thank you' _she wrote on her whiteboard and added a little smiley face.

"How are you?"

'_I've been better.'_

She looked like she wanted to write something more but she didn't.

"So, I guess you're stuck with me for the day," I joked, and she smiled back timidly.

'_So why were you at my apartment? Not that I'm ungrateful or anything,' _she added as an afterthought.

Well, why not? I might as well tell her.

"Well, it's just that you always avoid me, and I guess I know why now, but I wanted to know if you hated me. It's because I've been getting these feelings, and I don't know how to explain it. It's just, I feel so drawn to you. Over the past few months I got to know you better, and I just really care about you strongly." I blushed at the last part, unsure of her reaction.

'_I hate to admit it but I feel strongly about you too. More than Alice or Bella. But don't tell them that ;-)'_

"Of course," I said with a nervous chuckle, surprised with her answer.

We just ended up talking for hours for three days straight. Well, I talked and she listened. She didn't really like writing since she was so sore and banged up. Seeing her so fragile and broken brought bile to my throat and made me want to kill that guy.

"So, my uncle told me that if I was going to be helping him on his farm, I have to know how to ride a horse bareback. I told him I could do it so I took of my clothes and rode Tilly, my uncle's favorite horse, naked without a saddle. I got the worst rash ever because of that! Uh! And I won't even tell you _where_. My uncle washed Tilly down four times before deciding she was finally clean and free of my germs!" I really was trying my best to lift her spirits and saw it was working when she was smiling and trying to hold in her laughter. She got a faraway look in her eyes as they glazed over.

"Rose, what's wrong?" Her eyes snapped back into focus and she did her best to try smirking at me.

'_Oh, nothing. Just trying to imagine you naked on a horse, is all. Quite sexy.'_ And then she added a smiley face, so I couldn't tell if she was joking or not, but I did hear her giggles as my face went red from embarrassment and lust at the comment. Before I could come up with a coherent sentence, Dr. Cullen came in with Chief Swan.

"Good news, Rosalie! We get to take off your wire. Glad to be able to talk again?" She nodded and looked excited. Carlisle worked his magic and soon snapped off the offensive contraption to reveal Rosalie's beautiful face. The bruises and cuts were minimal to her face, so they were clearing away quickly.

"Rosalie, I need you to tell me everything," Chief Swan said sternly.

She sighed but nodded. "Well, for as long as I could remember Tanya had hit me or had been violent. When I turned eight that was the first time one of her boyfriends had raped me. Ever since then, whenever she brought a guy home he would rape me or hit me, basically do whatever he pleased with me. When I turned twelve, Tanya forced me to join her on the streets as a prostitute. I could never refuse, if you can figure out why. Whether I complied or not I got a beating. And then with Royce, her new husband, well, things were worse than ever. He made me into his slave and I had to-," she choked on her words and there were unshed tears in her beautiful eyes.

"Um, thank you Rosalie, that will be all. You rest up now," Chief Swan said and patted her hand, the one that wasn't injured, and left. Dr. Cullen then followed.

As soon as they left, Rosalie let out her sobs. Her whole body was shaking, and seeing her like that hurt me deeply. I climbed onto the bed and sat beside her. I wrapped my arms around her and put her in my lap, rocking her slowly, trying to calm her.

"Shh, shh, it'll be alright now. It's okay, baby, it's okay. I know sweetheart, I know. Don't be sorry Rosalie, I promise to protect you. I'll always be there for you. You never have to fear anything again. Remember when I said I cared for you, deeply? Rosalie Hale, I'm in love with you. You don't have to say anything. I don't expect you to feel the same way, you're hurt."

"Emmett, I've only known you for about five months, but it feels like forever. I'm sorry I acted the way I did. There's nothing about me that could make you love me; I'm broken. I don't know how I feel about you yet, Emmett. I'm sorry, but I don't," she cried as she hugged me.

I couldn't take it anymore. She was perfect, how could she not see it? I caressed her cheek until she looked up at me. Warning her with my eyes, I leaned in closer and pressed my lips to hers softly, tenderly, _lovingly_.

She didn't react the way I expected her to. No, quite the opposite.

She gasped before finally responding. She unwound her arms from my waist and fisted her hands in my hair, pulling me in closer.

"Emmett." She whispered my name over and over as she started placing butterfly kisses all over my face.

"Thank you. You just confirmed it."

"Confirmed what?" I was confused with the way she was smiling at me.

"Emmett, I don't know what love is, I've never experienced it before, not truly. But with you, I think I really _do_ love you. Emmett McCarthy, I'm saying _I love you_." She smiled as she stroked my hair. I stared at her shocked before crashing my lips to hers. Well, crashing them softly to avoid hurting her. She made my heart soar, and I'm pretty sure I had the same effect, hearing the heart monitor go berserk.

Her heart pounded in her chest, molded against mine, and our hearts were beating together in sync like the sound of thunder.

Yes, this girl – no, woman – was like thunder. She was so unpredictable, and she knew how to scare me, but she also made me feel so alive at the same time. Her own little thunder beating in her chest let me know that she was alive and safe. It was my favorite sound I the world, other than the sound of her saying 'I love you'.

"You are moving in with me," I whispered against her lips.

"What?!" She pulled back quickly, terrified.

"Where else will you go? I'll protect you, I'll keep you safe. I promise I won't push things with you. I won't even touch you," I said as I backed away from her.

"No! Emmett, get back here. I don't mind you holding me. It's not that I don't want to stay with you, I was just surprised. What about your parents?"

"They wouldn't really care. They'll love you, I promise, though not as much as me," I said as I kissed her lips again.

"I love you."

"I know, but I love you more." God, how I loved this woman.

* * *

**RPOV:**

Well, in the words of Mike fucking Newton:

"_Resistance is futile."_

How right he was. trying to _not _love Emmett was impossible. Avoiding it was a fruitless endeavor, and I'm glad my willpower crumbled and made me give in to this wonderful man.

Yes, he proved me wrong in deed. There is good out there in the world, even in men.

* * *

**A/N: How'd you like it?**

**If you can find the Star Trek line (yes, I'm that geeky) I'll give you a sneak peak of my next chapter of Iron Grip!**

**Anyway, this was for .Cucumber's challenge, idea 2. Go check out her stories, they are amazing!**

**I hope you enjoyed! REVIEW!**


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